Window-shade fixture.



W. RJPARSONS. WINDOW SHADE FIXTURE.

1 APPLICATION FILED FEB. 16, 1911. 1,040,399, Patented Oct. 8, 1912.

COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPM CO.,WASHINOTON. O. c.

WINSLOW R. PARSONS, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

WINDOW-SHADE FIXTURE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 8, 1912.

Application filed February 16, 1911. Serial No. 609,002.

To all whom it may concern.

Be it known that I, WINSLOW R. Parsons, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in WVindow-Shade Fixtures, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact specification.

This invention relates to improvements in window shade fixtures for the purpose of raising and lowering a window shade auto-- matically wound on its roller by the force of a spring therein, and unwound by a direct pull on the part of an operator in adjusting it for its various adjustments.

The successful operation of a window shade for its various adjustments, for the purpose of which it is very frequently unwound and rewound upon its roller, requires, for the prevention of wear, and to facilitate these adjustments, that the edges of the shade be prevented from frictional engagement with the end flange of its roller and any part of the window sash, and particularly with its frame throughout its movement, whether it be in raising or lowering it either intentionally or accidentally, and that there be no sidewise movement of the shade tending to fold or crack its surface.

The object of this invention therefore is a window shade fixture by means of which a window shade automatically actuated by a spring provided roller is constantly held taut, and in perfect alinement with its roller throughout the various adjustments of the shade intentionally or otherwise made, and by which it is made impossible, in the ordinary use of such shades, to so shift the shade laterally as to wrinkle the surface of the shade, or move its edges to contact with any part of the window structure or the flanges, when used, of the end bearings of the shade, and between which the shade is confined.

Another object of my invention is a support for the bearings of an automatically operating shade roller providing a means by which the roller may be adjustably lowered at varying distances below its normally elevated position, for light and ventilation, without changing or modifying the operation of other devices maintaining the shade taut and in alinement with its roller and against contact with the window frame or sash as next above referred to.

In short, the ultimate object of my invention is a window shade, automatically winding either upon an adjustable or non-adjustable roller, which is held taut and smooth throughout its surface and in perfect alinement with its roller, with its edges free from contact with opposing surfaces during and throughout its various adjustments, and against manual forces otherwise moving the shade out of alinement with its roller and in contact with surfaces laterally thereto, and also against wind forces blowing the shade away from the window and thereby buckling and distorting a shade to its permanent defacement, or other injury unfitting it for subsequent practical use.

Vith these ends in View, my invention finds embodiment in certain features of novelty in the construction, combination and arrangement of parts by which the said objects and certain other objects are hereinafter attained, all as fully described-with reference to the accompanying drawings, and more particularly pointed out in the claims.

In said drawings :Figure 1 illustrates a window shade fixture in front elevation, with parts broken away, in which my invention finds embodiment. Fig. 2 is a vertical section on the line 22 of Fig. 1 looking in the direction of the arrows. Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail sectional view of the devices for raising and lowering a shade roller. Fig. i is a detail cross section on the line 44 of Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is an enlarged detail section on the line 5-5 of Fig. 1 showing the position of the means maintaining the free end of the shade from accidental engagernent with its guide; and, Fig. 6 is a transverse section on the line 66 of Fig. 2.

Similar characters of reference indicate the same parts in the several figures of the drawings.

The window frame 7, shown in the drawings, is of any ordinary construction adapted for either a stationary or pivoted sash, or, as shown in the drawings, sliding or double hung sashes 8 and 9 as a form of sash for use wherein a shade is employed, the roller of which may be adjusted so that when the upper sash is open the shade roller may be lowered below the opening and away from injury due to air currents passing through the openings.

Mounted upon a roller 12 is a shade 13 of the ordinary material and construction, and as usual of a length corresponding with the window opening to be shaded, and of a width covering the light opening of the window without its edges cont-acting with the sides of the window frame.

The roller 12, for the purposes of my invention, should be provided with means producing an automatic winding thereon of the shade, and, to this end, may be of any con struction, but for convenience of operation and the adaptation of my invention to those previously and commonly used, it is preferable to use the Hartshorn type in which the roller inclosed a spring connected with an end bearing fixed in its supporting bracket, but this in the absence of the usual pawl and. ratchet stop device, the function of which is otherwise provided for by my in vention.

The roller 12 at each end (see Fig. :l) is provided with a projecting pin bearing 14: which may be supported in brackets fixed to the window frame by the usual means commonly employed for non-adjustable shade rollers, but, for the purposes of adj ustably lowering the roller and shade to or below the upper rails of the upper sash, when opened,- the pins 14 are loosely supported in a collar 15 through which the pin projects into rails 16 upon which the collar 15 is slidable. Rails 16, in cross section, are preferably substantially C-shaped of sheet metal, bent to form, and secured to the opposing faces of the window frame (see Fig. 6) by means of screws 17 or other suitable fastening devices, so that they extend longitudinally from about the upper end to the lower end of the side bars of that frame with the slots 18, 18 formed by their non-meeting edges directly opposing each other.

Secured to the collar 15 and depending therefrom is a bar 19, slidable in a perforationin a lug 20, projecting from a plate 21 secured to the side bars of the frame by screws 22, the plate 21 being provided at its lower end with a pin-like projection 23 adapted to be engaged by perforations 24, 24 at intervals of the length of the bar 19 for locking the roller in its several vertical adjustments, and to which end, for the pur poses of convenience and simplicity of construction, the bar 19 is of spring metal, so that by taking hold of the outwardly bent portion 25, at its lower end, it may be swung outwardly from disengagement with the pin and when released will force itself in reengagement therewith, or with the perforation next registering with the pin, as may be.

For ordinary and general purposes of ventilation it is not necessary that the upper sash should be lowered entirely to the upper edge of the lower sash, and, therefore, as shown in the drawings, the plate 21 is next above the sash last named, but the plate may be at any other point relative to the height of the window frame if desirable for any reason.

I The slot 18 in the rail 16 is formed by the separation of the edges of opposing flanges 26 and 27 one of which 26 has a straight edge, and the other 27 is provided, at intervals of its length, with notches 28 forming. hook-like recesses connected by surfaces 24 generally curving upwardly from the outer end of one book to the inner end of the other hook, as shown in Fig. 3, so that the pins, hereinafter described, bearing against these curved edges, which in a sense. are the shanks of a continuous series of hooks, will be directed into engagement with the hook next above said pins, but it would be no substantial departure from my invention to have the bearing surfaces straight instead of curved, as above described.

Secured in the usual manner in the lower and free end of the shade is a strip 29 which may be of wood or sheet metal, of any olesired form in cross section, in each end of which is (see Fig. 5) a pin 30, which, like the pin 14 of the roller, projects through the slot 18 in the rail 16, and is preferably held normally in contact against the edge of the flange 27, and, therefore, in contact with the continuous edges of the hooks above described. On the inner ends of the pins 30 are disks 31 which may be formed by upsetting the ends of the pins 30, but, as shown, are in practice preferably washers of a diameter maintaining the pins against accidental disengagement from their slots, and limiting the tilting of the strip 29 to a degree preventing the bending or wrinkling of the shade sufliciently to crack or deface its surface, and to these ends, and that the pins may engage with the hooks, the washers have a straight edge 31*, thereby enabling the rail to be of the shortest possible diameter in cross section. In short, by the engagement of these disks with an extended surface of both flanges of the rail, it is made im possible, even for a careless operator, by a pull in any direct-ion of the lower edge of the shade at any point thereof, or when attempting to lower it by taking hold of the side edges of the shade, to so shift the position of the shade that its surface may be wrinkled or its edges forced to contact with the sides of the frame to the injury of the shade. The form, arrangement and location of these disks, in other words, is such that throughout its manual made adjustment, the shade is maintained in such per fect alinement with its roller that its surfaces are constantly maintained taut and smooth, and its edges prevented from possible contact, wearing or otherwise, with any part of the sides of a window frame.

For the purposes of maintaining the bearings 30 of the bottom slat 29 of the shade in constant contact with the edges of the flange, in which the hook stops are made, the axis of the bearings of the slats should be outside of a vertical line through the axis of the roller, and whereby the spring action of the roller, together with the gravity of its shade and its bottom slat devices, shall tend to make the bearing of the bottom slat move to such contact, but, if preferred, springs or other devices may be used for that purpose.

For the insertion and removal of the bottom slat, together with its bearings and disks from the guide rail, the lower end of the flange 27 is cut away, as indicated at 32 (see Figs. 1 and 2) so that by pulling on the strip until it is slightly below the point of its intended operation it may be removed from the guide rail by a lateral movement, but, if desired, a notch at any other point of the guide rails could be employed for this purpose and provided with a latch closing the slot for preventing the accidental removal of the slat from its engagement With the guide rail.

In operation and with the several parts in the positions shown in the drawings, the bottom slat of a shade may be disengaged from the hooks by a slight downward pull and lateral movement outwardly, and will be raised by the action of the shade roller on reducing the strength of the force of the pull below that exerted upon the roller, the shade, when at the height of its desired adjustment, being locked by pushing the bottom slat inwardly. In this connection, it should be observed that even if the operator, accidentally or otherwise, releases his grasp upon the shade, the pins of the strip 29 will, by ravity, be moved inward to engagement with the hooks forming stops therefor. While the bottom shade slat has a perfectly free up and down movement on its hearings in the guide rails, its lateral movement is so limited that the edges of the shade may not be moved to contact with the faces of the window frame, and while the bearing of the disk or washer 31 does not obstruct the movement of the shade, it is sufficiently close that the washer, owing to its location and diameter, operates as a stop preventing an end thrust of the slat bearings against the inner face of the rail, and of a width further operating as stops preventing a tilting of the rail and a possibility of the edges of the shade being directed against either of the end flanges of the shade roller, otherwise preventing the shade from rolling straight and perfectly smooth thereon. WVhen using the sleeve or collar 15 and plate 21 for the vertical adjustment of the shade roller, the rail is spaced from the window frame sufficiently to require the employment of C- shaped collars 34 and 35 to form a solid sup port for spacing the rail by which to secure the rail to the window frame, as may be, by means of a screw 36 (see Fig. 6) projected through the rail and the collar into the window frame. WVhen the adjustability of the shade roller is not necessary or desirable, means adjustably supporting the roller and locking it in its adjustment may be omitted together with the collars 34L and 35, and the rail then be fastened by screws or nails in direct contact with the window frame, and thereby correspondingly reduce the cost of the fixtures without modifying the operation of the devices of my invention, by which the shade is made adjustable and locked in its adjustment, and prevented from accidental detachn'ient from the rail maintained in perfect alinement with its roller, and whereby it is also prevented from contacting with and being injured by the window frame, and from being blown away from the windo-wto its injury.

Having described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Pat-- ent is 1. A window shade structure comprising in combination a shade, a supporting roller therefor, means for automatically winding said shade on said roller, guide rails opposing the end of said roller, pivots projecting from the lower end of said shade into said guide rails and edge flattened washers for maintaining said pivots against a tilting movement and accidental endwise disengagement from the guide rails, and whereby the shade is maintained in perfect alinement with its support throughout its several adjustments.

2. A window shade structure comprising in combination a shade, an automatically operating roller support therefor, hollow rails at each side of the window frame provided with a longitudinal slot, one of the opposing walls of which is straight and the other is provided with hook-like stops, pins projecting from the edges of the shade toward the bottom thereof through said slots, and edge flattened washers upon the ends of said pins bridging said slots throughout the adjustment of the shade and when locked in its various adjustments, and maintaining the shade against the sidewise movement tending to their accidental detachment from the rails or to the injury of the shade.

3. A window shade structure comprising in combination a shade, a supporting roller therefor, means by which said shade may be wound and unwound upon said roller, a hollow bent sheet metal rail, the edges of which separate to form a longitudinal slot therein, curved hook-like stops in and upon but one of said edges, a strip extending transversely of and secured to the bottom end of said shade, pins projecting from the ends thereof, a washer upon the ends of said pins bridging said slot, limiting the endwise movement of the slat, and preventing the accidental escape of the shade from engagement with its locking devices.

4. A window shade structure comprising in combination a shade, a supporting roller, means whereby the shade is Wound upon and unwound from said roller, a strip extending transversely of and secured to the bottom end of said shade, pins projecting from the ends of said roller and strip, means for supporting the roller and locking the strip in its adjustment and against accidental and sidewise movement, a hollow slotted rail attachable to a window frame into which rail said pins project, the slot in which rail being common to the pins of both the roller and the strip, whereby the roller and the shade are adjustable simultaneously with or independently of each other.

5. A window shade structure comprising in combination opposing longitudinally slotted rails, a window shade, a roller support therefor at one end and a slat at its other end, pins projecting from the ends of said roller and slat into the rail groove, a collar adjustable on the rail and bearings therein for the roller, pins projecting from the slat into the rail slot, washers upon the ends of said pins maintaining them against disengagement from said slot, hook-shaped stops adapted to be engaged by said slatpins, substantially as described.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed my seal, this 14th day of February, A. D. 1911.

WINSLOVV R. PARSONS. [Ls] Witnesses:

JNo. G. ELLIOTT, F. E. BRoM.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

